ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Dominican University of California softball team earned its first-ever win over Dixie State, defeating the Trailblazers 6-5 in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader.
 
Reigning PacWest Pitcher of the Week Katelyn Harden picked up her sixth win of the season and freshman Mady Christensen put together a breakout performance on offense, going 2-for-3 with her first career homerun.
 
In the process, the Penguins handed Dixie State its first conference loss of 2017. Entering the week, the Trailblazers (19-4 overall) hold a No. 12 spot in the NCAA Division II national rankings. Dominican now holds marks of 6-10 overall and 5-3 in the PacWest. The Penguins will resume their eight-game road stretch on Thursday with a doubleheader at California Baptist.
 
Game One: Trailblazers 14, Penguins 9
 
Despite a late rally from Dominican, the host Dixie State squad pulled off 14-9 victory in the first half of the doubleheader.
 
Eight of the Penguins' nine lineup spots generated at least one hit, including multi-hit performances from McKenzie Schumacher, Alexis Chinchilla and Alyssa Lanza. Dominican also demonstrated plenty of offensive pop as Dahlen Dennis and Chinchilla knocked homeruns.
 
Unfortunately for the Penguins, five errors defensively gave Dixie State the extra advantage. Dominican showed considerable grit after trailing 12-3 at the end of four innings.
 
Chinchilla delivered her homer in the fifth inning with zero outs. Dennis' one-out blast came in the sixth. The Penguins took advantage of a two-run error in the seventh inning but couldn't pull closer than the five-run gap.
 
Game Two: Penguins 6, Trailblazers 5
 
Christensen, a Cypress native, gave the Penguins some early momentum with a solo homerun to lead off the third inning. The Trailblazers bounced back with three runs in the bottom half of the frame, seizing a 3-1 edge.
 
Dominican once again didn't waste any time building a rally in the fourth inning. Dennis and Karitza Reyes opened with back-to-back singles and then Chinchilla walked to load the bases. Christensen continued her stellar performance with an RBI single and later in the inning, Keely Bowlan knocked a two-run single up the middle.
 
The Penguins finished with five runs in the inning, taking a 6-3 advantage. Dixie State produced a two-run homer in the sixth but Harden shut the door on the complete-game win, holding the Trailblazers hitless in the final frame.